Hello everyone! I hope you’re staying warm this winter! The County’s public work’s team has been busy making sure the county buildings and county roads are ready for travel, even during the harshest weather. They’re such an impressive, hard working team.
On February 4th, I attended a town hall in Itasca with Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. It was a great opportunity to hear from the Congressman and what he’s working on, particularly given his critical roles on the House Oversight and Intelligence Committees. I greatly enjoyed the questions asked by all those who attended which covered many issues: immigration, national economy, veterans support, climate change, term limits for Congress, health care, LGBTQ+ rights, balance of powers between the branches of government, the Mueller investigation, the electoral college, the affects of the government shutdown, Alzheimer’s research, gun regulations and background checks, and national security. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to speak with his staff about a Housing and Urban Development issue (HUD) which led to the opportunity to set up a meeting for county staff to meet with the Congressman’s staff in Washington, DC. I look forward to continuing to build these partnerships with our state-level and national-level representatives to advocate for DuPage County.
February 5 was a busy day of committee meetings. I began the morning with the Environmental committee where we discussed many issues, including the latex paint recycling program. Member Chaplin, who chairs this committee, shared the budget challenges surrounding this popular recycling program. With staff and committee members, we discussed some possible alternative funding sources, options to make the event revenue generating, and other partnerships, such as with businesses or the Forest Preserve District. I am looking forward to an update on these options.
February 12 was another day of committee and board meetings. The first meeting of the day was the Finance Committee where I noticed there was an abnormal edit to a vendor’s ethics disclosure form. I was able to ask county staff to get us some clarification on this edit — I did not suspect any improper actions, I wanted to make sure we were making the best choices with all of the information. County staff was able to update us in between meetings and we approved this important contract with the caveat that our state’s attorney will review the final explanation from the vendor. I am proud of the county staff’s efforts and quick action to not only explain the edit in the forms to us and ensure the taxpayer’s funds are being protected.
I ended the day with a meeting with Addison Mayor, Richard Veenstra. As a resident of Addison, it was a great opportunity to meet my mayor, as well as discuss issues of importance between Addison and DuPage County. I had the opportunity to tour the Addison Consolidated Dispatch Center. This impressive facility is a great example of communities working together to make sure we are providing excellent services for the bests costs.
A full room for the Congressman’s town hall meeting in Itasca.